I'm not in love

Something Else

Wolfie ran to the edge of the rooftop, their heart beating in their throat as they searched frantically for where Gwen could've ended up. The ocean's navy-blue colouring made it hard to see any skinny figures looming around, and there were no blood splatters to indicate Gwen's contact with the rocky rubble below.

A dark patch in the ocean caught Wolfie's focus and they leapt into it, the coldness rushing past them. The saltwater stung their scars as they tried to ignore it. Staring down, they could faintly see Gwen's limp body slowly descending into the watery depths below.

When Wolfie got close enough, they could see dark blue patches swirling across her skin. At first, they thought it was the water reflecting on her, then they realized it was inside her, writhing around like worms. They grabbed Gwen's hand and pulled them up, raising her above the water's surface.

She coughed as they dragged her back from the brink, and she stared at them with unfocused eyes. Wolfie shook her until she regained consciousness, and she opened her mouth to speak.

"Are we okay?" Gwen croaked, still trying to get some air.

"Yeah," said Wolfie, looking around. "Can someone help us?" Nobody responded, they were too busy staring at the angry blotches of blue squirming around her body and slowly fading away. There were a few people who turned to run when they saw the strange group.Wolfie glanced down again and looked around for anything that could be used to protect her. It seemed like nothing was going to be enough.

A large velvet jacket plummeted next to Wolfie, and they looked up to see Esther who was purposely trying not to look at the girl.

"Thanks," Wolfie sighed, draping the jacket over Gwen's shivering body. "What were you doing out here? I told you not to leave," They asked.

"i was trying to find what was making all that noise," Gwen responded. "But i couldn't when they were trying to look for the 'feral woman from the alley'" she added, motioning to the crowd which had grown since the last five minutes. The action caused the people to jump back in fear, like a lit firework had been thrown at them Some of them turned tail and ran, others shouted questions, but nobody came near them or Gwen.

"How did you know there were 'things' here?" Wolfie questioned. "Did you try and talk to them or something?"

"No," said Gwen, shaking her head vigorously. "They were shouting something but i couldn't understand."

"They were probably the voices of the ocean" Wolfie suggested.

"The Spirit is in her, that's what she's hearing," Esther reluctantly interrupted, causing the two to stare at her. Wolfie had heard of the stories about the spirit Esther was talking about; the god who somehow killed the rest, the method being unknown to this day. People would know if their souls contained the Spirit because they would see it and they would be able to do impossible things. Gwen certainly could not.

"And how would you know?" asked Gwen, standing up.

"Because everyone knows that you were born a freak!" Esther snapped, glaring daggers into Gwen's eyes and piercing her soul.

"Who do you think you are?" shouted Gwen, squaring up to her mother.

"The person who's going to turn you in to the police if you keep acting like a brat."

"Esther stop," said Wolfie sharply. They knew Esther would lash out at the wrong time and it was not worth the consequences. "Gwen, just go and relax."

To their surprise, Gwen huffed and turned to a statue of a whale, striding to the statue and leaning against it. Her eyes flutered closed as she fell asleep.